Semi-trailers are now transported by rail more and more frequently.
They are loaded onto special cars and secured to ensure they are kept in place for the entire journey.
The semi-trailers are loaded and unloaded in mixed roadway and rail terminals according to different techniques.
One currently preferred technique consists of using cars with a supporting railway structure that can be disconnected from the movable base, specifically by pivoting either centrally or at one extremity.
If the structure pivots centrally, access or egress is possible at either one of its extremities, whereas if it pivots at one extremity, this leaves only one extremity free for the semi-trailer to enter and leave before and after transport.
There are also other possible ways to open it, such as for example, the lateral translation of the supporting railway structure or vertical manipulation using a lifting device.
French Patent No. FR 2884479 owed by ARBEL FAUVET RAIL corporation describes a housing designed to receive a semi-trailer and the railway car equipped with such a housing.
According to this invention, a removable technical assembly for attaching the semi-trailer using its kingpin is attached by moving it translationally to the end of a receptor housing on a semi-trailer. This housing is equipped with two tracks and its arms rest on the rail car girders, constituting the removable base supporting the semi-trailer. A removable technical assembly comprises a socket to which a pillar or a column is attached supporting at its intermediate portion a cross-member and at its upper portion a fifth connecting wheel for the kingpin of the semi-trailer. This cross-member has receptor cases for the gripping elements of a handling apparatus. Locking and unlocking means are also provided.
The removable technical assembly of this invention can only be used with the receptor means on its socket by engaging a repositionable housing supported by a rail car, constituting the base of the car upon which the semi-trailer rests during transport.